The invention relates generally to the attachment of one member to another member and more particularly, in the preferred embodiment, to the attachment of a metallic stud or mounting member to a thermoplastic body.
It is frequently desirable to attach a mounting member, such as a threaded fastener for example, to one side of a thermoplastic member such as a vehicle trim or molding member. Frequently such studs or mounting members are molded into a thermoplastic member when the thermoplastic material is formed in a die apparatus. Although generally effective, such a method is costly and necessitates the accurate positioning of the mounting member at the time that the thermoplastic member is manufactured. Thus, once the thermoplastic member is formed, the position of the mounting member is fixed and the assembly may only be used in applications where the location of the mounting points coincide with the fixed positions of the previously molded-in mounting members.
According to the present invention, a mounting member may be secured to a thermoplastic member after the thermoplastic member is formed. A slot or other cavity is cut or otherwise formed in the thermoplastic member at the desired location of attachment of a mounting member. The mounting member includes an elongated, laterally-protruding base portion preferably at one of its ends. The base portion is inserted into the slot or cavity in a non-interfering relationship with the thermoplastic member. The base portion is heated either before or after being inserted into the cavity and rotated or otherwise moved so that its elongated portion locally melts and embeds itself into the thermoplastic material surrounding the slot or cavity. The melted material is cooled and allowed to harden and reform around the base portion in order to form an interlocking engagement between the mounting member and the thermoplastic member.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.